Charleston Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) REMEMBRANCE COMMITTEE
Honoring our ancestors who perished during the “Middle Passage”
Saturday, June 10, 2023 • 9:00am – 1:00pm
Fort Moultrie at Sullivan’s Island, South Carolina
“All those Africans in the briny deep. All those people who said ‘no’ and jumped ship. All those people who tried to figure a way to steer, to navigate amongst the sharks. We don’t call upon that power… upon those spirits. We don’t celebrate those ancestors. We don’t have a marker, an expression, a song that we use to acknowledge them. We have nothing to indicate that those are our people and they mattered … we don’t tap into the ancestral presence in the waters.” ––Toni Cade Bambara (1987)
“Spirit of the Dead, rise up and claim your story” ––From the film Sankofa (1993)
On Saturday, June 10, 2023, The Charleston Branch ASALH Remembrance Committee will host the 26th Annual Remembrance Program on Sullivan’s Island, SC from 9:00am – 1:00pm.
The annual commemoration, held the second Saturday of every June, provides an opportunity for members of African Diaspora communities to collectively remember the countless Africans — men, women, and children — who were kidnapped, sold, shipped and died along the route from Africa to the Americas.
We believe that by remembering, we honor and restore the humanity of those nameless, faceless Africans. We continue the process of healing from the fear, pain, guilt and shame of the experience that continues to traumatize the African descended community today. After all, If we don’t remember them, who will?!
We also honor and commemorate those who survived the Transatlantic trafficking of African people and we stand upon their strength, courage and determination to overcome obstacles of enormous magnitude.
The program begins promptly at 9:15am in the Fort Moultrie Auditorium with greetings from The Charleston Remembrance Committee. Dr Felice Knight, History Professor at the Citadel, will speak on “Remembrance as Resistance.”
The program includes a drum procession to the Beach and back to the “Bench by the Road” for remarks by community members.
At 12:00pm EST, the Libation Ceremony conducted by Yoruba Priestess OsunWonuola EfunLayo, will be held simultaneously in conjunction with various locations, including: Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC; Georgetown, SC; Hampton, VA; New Orleans, LA; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, San Francisco and Oakland, CA; Montgomery, AL; Miami, FL; Detroit, MI. Tributes are also held internationally in locations in West Africa, The Caribbean and South and Central America.
The program and gathering is free and open to the public; all who wish to attend are welcome.
Attendees are encouraged to bring fresh flowers as an offering and to be dressed in white.
For those unable to attend a scheduled Remembrance/Tribute to the Ancestors program, we encourage you to gather with friends and family and reflect upon the occasion.
For additional information, visit Charleston Middle Passage Remembrance on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Youtube.
https://www.youtube.com/@chsmiddlepassagerembrance
The Charleston Remembrance Program is a member of the International Coalition to Commemorate the African Ancestors of the Middle Passage (ICCAAMP). For ICCAAMP info: www.remembertheancestors.com
Charleston Area Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History 